Copy of 26IComplete Works of Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, 1926 I

8/13/2019 Copy of 26IComplete Works of Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, 1926 I

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COMPLETE WORKS

OF

PIR-O-MURSHID

HAZRAT INAYAT KHAN

ORIGINAL TEXTS:

LECTURES ON SUFISM

1926 I: December 1925 to March 12, 1926


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[CALENDAR]


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[PHOTO]

Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

1882-1927


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[HEART and WINGS]

COMPLETE WORKS

OF

PIR-O-MURSHIDHAZRAT INAYAT KHAN

ORIGINAL TEXTS:

LECTURES ON SUFISM

1926 I: December 1925 to March 12, 1926Source Edition

Omega Publications

New Lebanon, New York


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Previous volumes in this series:

Biography o f P ir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan (1979)

Complete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan,

Original Texts:

Sayings, Part I (Gayan, Vadan, Nirtan , 1982, rev. ed. 1989)

Sayings, Part II ( Bowl of Saki , Aphorisms , Unpublished Sayings ,

1982, rev. ed. 1989)

Lectu res on Sufism :

1922 I: January-August (1990)

1922 II: September-December (1996)

1923 I: January-June (1989)

1923 II: July-December (1988)1924 I: January-June (2004)

1924 II: June-December (2010)

Published by the Nekbakht Foundation; the Complete Works are downloadable from

nekbakhtfoundation.org

2010 by the Nekbakht Foundation

This book and website are copyrighted under the Berne Convention.

Enquiries should be addressed to Fondation Nekbakht, 34 rue de laTuilerie, 92150, Suresnes, France.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, electronic reproduction, or by any other meanswithout written permission from the copyright holder. Permission isgiven to download this document from nekbakhtfoundation.org, and part or all of it may be printed for personal use.

ISBN


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Table of Contents

Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xAbbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxviiAcknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxviiiAmericas Mission in the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1The Christ Ideal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Deeper Side of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7The Freedom of the Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Man, the Master of His Destiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Man, the Master of His Destiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13M y Pilgrimage to the Holy M en of India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15The Purpose of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17The Power of the Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Message of Wisdom from the East to the West. . . . . . . . . . . 21The Deeper Side of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Man, the Master of His Destiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36The Secret of the Spirit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44A Christmas Message from the East. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52The Purpose of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Greetings to the Statue of Liberty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Mureeds Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67The Awakening of the World in the New Year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72The Divine Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Mureedship.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Universal Worship : The Spirit of Guidance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Inspiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105The Process of Spiritual Unfoldment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116Inspiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124The Way of Meditation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133Mureeds Class: Initiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Universal Worship: Prayers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149The God-Ideal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Destiny and Free Will.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170Initiation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181Sufism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Universal Worship: Belief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201


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The Freedom of the Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210The Awakening of the Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218The Continuity of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231Mureeds Class: Attitude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Message Given over the Radio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252The Freedom of the Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254The Purpose of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265The Secret of the Spirit.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276The Art of Personality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286Inspiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298The Control of the Mind.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306A Few Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Mystic Relaxation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322[India, India]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332The Sufi Movement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

The Vision of God and Man.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341Mental Purification I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353Mind Distractions Removed by Superior Concentration. . . . . . 366Spirituality, the Tuning of the Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376Universal Worship: The Divine Grace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390Mental Purification II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395The Value of Repetition and Reflection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407Insight: the Realization of the Higher Self. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421Mental Purification III: The Distinction between the Subtle and the Gross. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431The Mystic Poets of Persia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443Man the Master of His Destiny.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456M ental Purification IV: M astery.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467Sublime Knowledge and the Removal of Barriers

in the Path of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478The Secret of Breath.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484Belief. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496Murshids Words to the Members of the Womens

Press C lub. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502Murshids Last Words to the Mureeds before Leaving

for Los Angeles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508The Purpose of Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511Universal Worship: Gods Grace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523


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Spirituality, the Tuning of the Heart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533Man, the Master of His Destiny. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553Appendix A: Disposition of Lectures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566Appendix B: Illustration of Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568Glossary of Foreign Words.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571List of Persons, Places, etc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575Index.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584


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Preface

Pir-o-Mushid Inayat Khan gave an extraordinary lecture tour in 1926.Travelling across the Un ited States, Inayat Khan held his audiencesspellbound with an exceptional variety of themes addressing Sufismas the religion of the heart. This lecture tour occurred just one year before his death, and thus the unusually long lectures he gave as hetravelled from New York to California and back represent theculmination of his teaching to the public. Similarly, the last Summer School in France, which began as soon as he returned, represents theculmination of his teaching to his followers.

Because this was such an extensive tour, taking place from the end

of November through the end of May, and because of the depth andscope of the material, which makes the lectures unusually long, wehave decided to publish the lectures in two volumes. The presentvolume is the first of the two. It is the ninth volume to be publishedin the series of theComplete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat

Khan , a series created with the intention of preserving as nearly as possible the writings and lectures as originally given, withouteditorial refinement. This volume covers the period between hisdeparture for New York near the end of 1925 to a lecture InayatKhan gave in San Diego, California, on March 12, 1926. The nextvolume will present the lectures he made on his return journey,travelling back through the States to New York, before his return toEurope in June, 1926, where he would give one last Summer School.After that he would go to India in October of 1926, and wouldunexpectedly die there on the 5th of February, 1927.

The material in this American tour contains many lectures whichhave never been available to the public in any form, lectures whichdevelop in interesting and surprising ways many of the themes of Inayat Khans teachings. In scope and emphasis, he deepens theconsideration of his early teachings, which had been presented in theGatha and Githa series as an introduction to his students. He alsofinds common ground with Henry Ford, the great American


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entrepeneur, with whom Inayat Khan met and conversed, in Detroitin February of 1926. A reporters transcript of this conversation isincluded later in this Preface.

To many, the best-known presentation of Inayat Khan is to be foundin the Sufi Message series, published in the 1950s and 60s. These books, however, include only a very limited portion of Inayat Khansteachings. Moreover, they were heavily edited, and sometimes achapter would be cobbled together from passages in different lecturesand from widely differing time periods. Our strict chronological presentation in theComplete Works permits a close study of thedevelopment of Inayat Khans thinking. Consequently, this Americanlecture tour is essential in understanding and assessing not onlyInayat Khans modernization of Sufi teachings, but also hisrecontextualization of spiritual teaching for our time. It is vital to

remember that Inayat Khan was the first teacher to b ring Sufism tothe West in 1910, commissioned to do so by his own Murshid inIndia.

Inayat Khan was in the United States three different times. The first,the beginning of his time in the West, was by far the longest. Hearrived in New York in October, 1910, travelled extensively as amusician and accompanist, and left for Europe in October, 1911.During this period he did not give lectures except musicallecture-demonstrations, attempting to introduce Indian music to a public almost totally unfamiliar with it. He did not give any lecturesof Sufi teachings at this time, for reasons that he indicates himself inhis Biography :1

Now before me there was the question: how to set to work and in what direction? For the Message the time was not yetripe, as I was at that time rather studying the psychology of the people than teaching.2

1. Actually, for the m ost part, this is his autobiograph y, unfinished at the time of hisdeath in 192 7, and pu blished, after being extensively edited by successive secretaries,only in 19792. Biography of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan (East-W est, 1979), p. 123


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He did, however, take on a number of students, and trained themindividually, often by correspondence .3

Once he established himself in Europe, he did not return to theUnited States until 1923, by which time there were a number of centres established to study his teachings. The largest and best-established was in San Francisco under the guidance of Murshida Rabia Martin, where he spent the longest time during histour. The remarkable lectures he gave at that time have been published in theComplete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan , 1923 I (East-West, 1989), and his lectures on the Persian Sufi poets have also appeared inThe Hand of Poetry (Omega, 1993).

His warm reception on those two trips no doubt prompted him toschedule another such tour, which he began in December of 1925. He

was accompanied on the journey by one of his secretaries, KismetStam, who, like her cousin Sakina Furne, had learned shorthand inorder to be able to take down his lectures as he spoke them. Thus wehave a good record of the lectures Inayat Khan gave throughout thecountry.

They sailed from Boulogne-sur-Mer on the 25th of November aboardthe S. S. Volendam, a fairly new ship put into service in 1922 by theHolland-America Line. While aboard ship, Inayat Khan and KismetStam worked together on a series of newspaper articles on varioussubjects, such as the role of America in the world and his visits tosages in India. There is no evidence that any of these were ever published, nor do we know to whom they might have been sent. Inmany cases, the original working document is written in longhand in pencil by Kismet on Holland-America Line stationery. Apparentlythey went back and forth, crossing out and rephrasing ideas in order to establish the final text. Since there is no indication in what order these articles may have been written, we simply present them

3. This was especially true in the case of Mrs. Ada M artin, his first student in the We st,to whom he g ave the nam e Rabia; he trained her very extensively as he travelled, andnamed her in 1911 as a Murshida, meaning a spiritual teacher authorized by her teacher to teach others


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alphabetically.

While on board the ship Inayat Khan also delivered a lecture onDecember 2 , The Deeper Side of Life, followed by manyndquestions and answers. They arrived in New York on the 6th of December, but it was another week before Inayat Khan gave his firstlecture there, on Sunday, December 13 , to a substantial audience.thThere followed two other lectures on the following two Sundays,December 20 and December 27 , all at the Waldorf Astoria Hotelth th(at that time the best-known hotel in New York), where they wereaccommodated by a generous student, Mr. Chase Crowley. OnChristmas Day Inayat Khan gave a radio address. Throughout hislater career, Inayat Khan frequently gave radio addresses, and he wasclearly most interested in the possibility of reaching a very largeaudience, and open to technological developments. He did not,

however, have much confidence in publicity, and he was oftendistressed at wildly inaccurate newspaper articles which appearedafter he had spent a long time explaining himself to the reporter.

He stayed in New York through the month of January, giving a totalof twenty-two lectures and classes, either at the Sufi Centre, whichwas located in Steinway Hall (belonging to the famous piano maker)at 140 W est Seventy-Fourth Street, or at the Lenox Theatre, 52 EastSeventieth Street, rented for the purpose. He performed a UniversalWorship Service each Sunday, a service he created in 1921 whichhonours all the major religions by putting their scriptures together onthe altar and reading from each. It includes lighting candles, reciting prayers, a sermon, and a concluding blessing. The Universal Worshipwas not ever publically announced in Europe, but was evenadvertised in New York in 1923 and again in 1926, presumably because the public there was more open to new things than inEurope. When Inayat Khan had previously been in New York in1923, a Universal Worship Service he performed drew fifty people,quite possibly the largest congregation up to that time. At one servicenow in 1926, probably January 10th, there appeared more than fivehundred people, and they had to change from the Little LenoxTheatre to the larger Lenox Theatre. Inayat Khan was clearly thrilledat this response, and took it as a sign that his work would be


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expanding rapidly. He even envisioned a time when there might befifty Universal Worship Services in New York each Sunday.

The audience for his public lectures, on the other hand, wassomewhat disappointing; a larger turnout had been anticipated. Healso gave quite a number of classes to the group ofmureed s(initiates) in New York, and twice performed initiations of newmureeds. We do not know exactly how many initiates there were(one list has eighty-one), but the number seems to have beensubstantial (for example, there were by then seventeencherag sordained to perform the Universal Worship).

On the morning of February 1, Inayat Khan arrived in Detroit bytrain from New York, and on that day he gave a message over theradio and a lecture in the evening, then lectures on each of the

following two days, and finally two lectures on February 4. All theselectures were delivered at the Twentieth Century Club, a prestigiousand progressive womens club which had opened in 1902. Thiscontinued to be his favoured venue, though he also gave lectures and performed Universal Worship services in large private homes.Perhaps the h ighlight of his visit was a personal meeting with HenryFord. Here follows the very interesting report of that conversation:4

4. Because we have only the printed article, and not any exact transcript of theconversation, we decided to include it here in the Preface rather than printing it in thatsection of the book, where only Inayat Khans words appear


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A Magnate and a Mystic Meet

Henry Ford and Inayat Khan find common spiritual ground

By A. M. Smith

A genius of Oriental mysticism, and another genius, of Occidental materialism, met last Wednesday, looked earnestly ateach other, and talked for an hour about the First Cause, theworld of matter, human existence, the souls of men, the stretchesof eternity before and after this little span of life. As theywarmed to the themes which have engaged the mind of manthrough the ages, each smiled at the other as though he hadencountered a friend of long ago.

I agree with you, said Henry Ford.And I agree with you, said Murshid Inayat Khan.Murshid (teacher) Khan, exponent of that mysticism which

has flourished for centuries in the dreamland under the shadowsof the Himalayas, and who has been preaching in recent yearsthroughout Europe his gospel of self-forgetting meditation, is inDetroit, giving lectures at the Twentieth Century Club. STUDIES HIS VIEWS.Murshid Khan waited with his companions in the library of theoffices of the Ford Motor Company, at Dearborn. While hewaited he read the sketchy account of Mr. Fords philosophy of religion in a recent magazine. He had just finished, and had laidthe magazine on the table. He was thinking of Mr. Fordsstatement of his belief that in ages past mankind had possessedknowledge of spiritual reality which has been sacrificed in thesematerialistic, rushing latter days, with their strife for that whichis called progress.

Deliberate always in speech and manner, the elderly prophetsat quietly thinking, but in the dark eyes was a query. Thatsketchy article did not go far into the subject.

With the rapid step of the man of affairs, Mr. Ford came intothe room. Surely, here would be a clash of minds and theories!


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HIS LECTURES REPORTED.I have been waiting to meet you, Mr. Ford said. You are notreally a stranger to me.

It shortly appeared that, not being able to attend the lecturesof Inayat Khan, Mr. Ford had been employing a stenographer toreport them verbatim. He produced the copies which had beendelivered to him, but which he had not had time to read.

And now, said Mr. Ford, lets compare notes. I seldomdiscuss my own religious ideas. I think that every kind of religion is doing good.

I think so too, replied Inayat Khan, but I think we all need breathing space, time to think about deeper things than hehesitated, as a smile played on his face.

A BELIEF IN POWER.

Than automobiles, Mr. Ford said, with a hearty laugh. Butthe power that makes the automobile go is, after all, invisible. Itis so with all things. I think the real power of human lives ishidden away in the soul, and farther than that. There are actualentities all about us, entities of force, intelligencecall themelectrons, if you like. When a man is doing what is right, theyswarm to help him.

The smallest indivisible reality which exists is, to my mind,intelligent and is waiting there to be used by human spirits if wereach out and call them in. We rush too much with nervoushands and worried minds. We are impatient for results. What weneed, and might have, is reinforcement of the soul by theinvisible power waiting to be used.

That, said Murshid Khan, completes the link in my philosophy of the soul. I think there is One Being, all-embracing,manifesting the primordial intelligence in every atom in thisuniverse. And there is a way to approach this spiritual reality andto become linked with it.

RENEWAL OF STRENGTH.And yours is the way of meditation, is it not? asked Mr.

Ford.Meditation, yes. Periods of shutting out all of the material


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objectivity of the world, with emphasis, again and again, on theunity of the soul with the Soul of the universe, replied InayatKhan.

That, to my mind, said Mr. Ford, is the heart of personalreligion. I struggled for many years to solve the problem of religion. But I believe that for mankind, at this stage, religionopens the doors into unity of the soul with the real power back of all things.

But I found, as you have said, that if I quietly withdrewfrom the nervous anxiety over things, inventions, and the business that drives from every side, there was renewal of strength in the thought of being a part of the great unseen power,call it God, Intelligence, what you will, I do not feel that men canfind anything more helpful and satisfying.

PEACEFUL STATE.Except, said Inayat Khan, if one realizes self-forgetting fully,and unity with the One, there is surely peace and deep joy insuch an experience, and the human soul at that moment really becomes creative.

It is like the artist in the painting of a picture. It is never,when finished, what he first planned. Creative inspiration comesas he loses himself in the task. Completely absorbed in his work,completely forgetful of self, shutting out the rest of the world, hisfinished product is, at the last, a truly creative expression of theself he has completely forgotten.

And so, also, with the musician. The true musician alwaysgoes into improvisation. If he is lost in his theme, immediatelythe theme grows into beauty of harmony of which he had not before dreamed. Whence comes the harmony he had never before heard? The most beautiful music I ever heard Paderewski play he improvised one day as I sat alone with him in his studio.The best music has never been reduced to the printed sheet, andcannot be, for it is the immediate creation of the soul that has lostitself in the contemplation of the beauty of harmony.

UNITY OF SOUL WITH GOD.That is the best symbolic statement I can make of the real unity


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of the soul with the Source of all beauty and truth. What the truemusician really experiences is possible for all human souls in awider sense, in contact with the Source of life, power, beauty,truth, peace. But that contact is made only by the forgetting of self. I know of no terms in psychology by which the experiencecan be stated or explained. But your musician, artist, poet, knowsat least the borderland of that experience.

There was a moment of silence.Murshid Khan, Mr. Ford said, I think you are preaching

a gospel that men of all faiths can understand. No matter whatform it takes in doctrine, it is the thing Americans need. We canexplain nothing, really, if we try to follow through to the finalanalysis. But I know there are reservoirs of spiritual strengthfrom which we human beings thoughtlessly cut ourselves off.And I believe it is possible for us to put ourselves in vital touch

with them.BELIEF IN GOD.Then you have a real belief in God, Mr. Ford?

Why, of course, was the quick reply. Have not things been created, or are they not being created constantly? I believewe shall someday be able to know enough about the source of power, and about the realm of the spirit to create somethingourselves.

I firmly believe that mankind was once wiser about spiritualthings than we are today. What we now only believe, they knew.But as we became wiser about the visible world, we lost thewisdom of the unseen world, or it may be that we are only going back to that wisdom by another route. I personally do not see anydifference between matter and sprit; they are both one. I seldomsay spirit, because it seems to prejudice that expression of itwhich we call matter.

Our progress in mastery and use of the material world neednot interfere with our understanding and use of the spiritual.Perhaps that deeper wisdom is what Jesus referred to when Hetold us we must become as little children if we would enter theKingdom.


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AN EVERLIVING ALL.Do you think the souls of men are indestructible?

Everything is indestructible, nothing is ever lost, Mr. Fordreplied. Souls come and go, and they come again, prepared by past experience for greater achievement and greater realizationof whatever eternal life holds for them.

It is a never ending circle of the life of spirits, said InayatKhan. We say, in the East, there is the Source of all radiatinginto manifestations of the One Intelligence in all things and allsouls. There is the realm of the angelic, nearest the Source. Thenthere is the realm of genius, which is manifested in this life insome souls. And there are yet lower orders of manifestation of the Source, like the rays of the Sun streaming out to thefarthermost reaches of the universe, attenuated, yet real. What part the individual soul shall play in this emanation of the

Intelligence depends on the measure of unity it realizes with itssource of existence.Still, while I think that if all believe in the never ending

activity of the soul here, elsewhere, or here again, I think if onemeditates too much there is not likely to be much work done!

But if one mediates somewhat, replied Inayat Khan, therewill really be much more work done, and better done, and withit will be happ iness and peace. I do not preach the denial of thethings of this world, nor do I condemn worldly accomplishment.I preach only that with the things we must do here in the materialworld there must also be real attainment in the world of thespirit.

That is true, replied Mr. Ford. It is the real religion of life,and we all need it.

--The Detroit News, Sunday, February 7 , 1926th 5

During his earlier tour of the United States in 1923, Inayat Khan hadvisited Detroit twice, once on h is way to San F rancisco and again onhis way back to New York. He had initiated a number of mureeds

5. Although it would ha ve been possible to insert this article at the appropriate placein the text, the fact that this is a reporters article rather than an exact transcript meansthat it is not possible to be sure exactly which wo rds Inayat Khan actually spoke


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who evidently had been at work in his absence, since everything waswell planned for this visit.

He stayed in Detroit, lecturing, until February 10, when he went onto Chicago. He gave no lectures there (nothing had been arranged), but stayed two days and met with reporters before leaving for thelong trip to San Francisco. He spent nearly three weeks among themureed s in this, the largest American Sufi Centre. Its leader,Murshida Rabia Martin, was Inayat Khans firstmureed in the Westin 1911, and, after having been thoroughly trained, was designatedMurshida . Inayat Khan gave only four such initiations, and all of 6them were to women. Rabia Martins initiation occurred in 1911, andthe others were not until 1923 or later. Murshida Martin vigorously pursued her commission and built a flourishing centre in SanFrancisco, where many initiates were trained. Inayat Khan spent a

large part of his 1923 visit in San Francisco, and Murshida Martinhad come, after a very successful visit to India , to the Summer 7School in Suresnes in 1924. She was the National Representative for the United States of the Sufi Movement, and Inayat Khan oftenreferred to her as the Mother of the Sufi Message; in fact, heregularly addressed her as Mother in his letters. Thus it was withkeen anticipation that Murshida Martin and hermureed s awaitedInayat Khans arrival.

He arrived there on February 15, and soon afterwards began givingan address every day, sometimes two (one for the public and one for mureed s), in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. To themureed she gave a series of four lectures on mental purification. These werelater included in the Sufi Message volumes, along with other lecturesfrom this tour and elsewhere, but the texts in this publication arehighly edited, as we have noted earlier.

After nearly three weeks in San Francisco, he left for Southern

6. Murshids or Murshidas, in later days representing the 11 initiation, are thoseth

authorized by their teacher to become teachers in their own right7. On one occasion she add ressed an audience of mo re than three thousand Indians,truly extraordinary for an American wom an in 1924


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California on March 5. The trip was made by motorcar, and hischauffeur was Paul Reps (Sufi name Saladin), who later becamewell-known as a writer about Zen Buddhism. He was accompanied8 by Murshida Martin as well as Kismet Stam.

Inayat Khan stopped for two days in Santa Barbara, giving twolectures, and visiting his Khalif, Edward Connaughton . Inayat Khan9then went on to Los Angeles, where he stayed for two and a half weeks, with one excursion to La Jolla and San Diego. Since thisrepresents the extreme reach of his tour, we decided to end the firstvolume with these lectures. The second volume, 1926 II, begins withhis return to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and then back to NewYork.

This first half of Inayat Khans American tour is characterized by a

growing expansiveness towards a readily comprehensibleunderstanding of Sufism as the religion of the heart. In the secondhalf of his tour, these themes are deepened and applied in a broadway to America as the developing edge of the modern world.Throughout his tour, his obvious empathy with his audienceapparently inspired him to envision a world in which the wisdom of the East would deeply affect the future of the West. This fruitfulmeeting of East and W est was in fact already happening, and InayatKhans American tour gave him hope for the future advancement of both the East and the West.

Editorial History

As Inayat Khans lectures and talks were given, they were takendown by one or more of his three secretaries, Murshida SharifaGoodenough, Sakina Furne, and Kismet Stam. Sherifa Goodenoughhad become his principal editor very early in the London days, probably by 1916, and she continued to write down what he said inlonghand. In the early days, all those present had been encouraged towrite down what was being said, and Inayat Khan spoke very slowly

8. His best-known book is Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)9. A khalif , considered a deputy, represents the tenth degree of initiation, whereasMurshid is the eleventh, and Pir-o-Murshid the twelfth, unique in each order


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and gave short lessons. As time passed, his English naturallyimproved, and he began to give more extensive discourses and tospeak faster. Eventually, those present were asked not to write but tolisten only, while one or more of the three secretaries made a writtenrecord. In 1921 Sakina Furne became the second secretary, and wasasked by Inayat Khan to learn shorthand so as to take down his wordsaccurately. Not long after that, Sakinas cousin, Kismet Stam, also become a secretary and was also asked to learn shorthand. Althoughcousins, these two young women were of very differenttemperaments. Sakina learned a Dutch shorthand system, Pont, andrecorded each syllable of Inayat Khans speaking. Kismet learned aFrench system, Aim, and took down a normal shorthand with manyconnective words deliberately left out. Thus Sakinas shorthand is thefullest and most accurate record of Inayat Khans speaking, backedup by Sherifa Goodenoughs longhand and Kismets shorthand.

Wherever Sakinas shorthand record exists it forms the solid basis for representing exactly what Inayat Khan actually said.

In the case of the American tour in 1926, the only record of whatInayat Khan actually said is the shorthand of Kismet Stam, far lessexact than Sakina Furnes method. In most cases, Kismet made alonghand transcription from her shorthand right away, with InayatKhans speaking fresh in her mind, and was able to correct or fill inher shorthand from memory. In a few cases, we find passages in theshorthand which have been altered in the transcript, and in thesecases it seems likely that Inayat Khan himself suggested an alterationto what he had said. They were travelling together and staying in thesame hotels. Occasionally, Kismet had access to a typewriter andtyped her transcription instead of writing it by hand. However, her handwriting is very readable, and there is almost never a problem of making it out. In a very few cases, there does not seem to be anytranscription, in which case we have no choice but to give theshorthand as written. In these cases, the text often makes very littlesense, though one can still guess what Inayat Khan might have said.

The shorthand itself, the French Aim system Kismet learned inGeneva, is of course not used any more. A Dutch woman, AnnekeStrijbos, taught herself the system from the instruction manuals, and


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undertook to transliterate all of Kismets shorthand in the 1980s. Sheexecuted this task with exemplary thoroughness, and left such clear indications that we have been able to use her transcriptions withoutfurther investigations. Every reader owes a debt of gratitude to her for undertaking and completing this arduous task.

Editorial PracticesMuch of the material in this volume has never before been published.The small part which has been published has mostly appeared in theSufi Message series in the 1950s and 60s. The editorial practices inthose volumes were such that attention was not given to preservingInayat Khans words nor to giving any chronological indications of the material presented, even mixing passages from widely differentyears in a single chapter. Therefore, from the viewpoint of theComplete Works , that earlier publication could be called texts based

on the teachings of Inayat Khan, but not those teachings themselves.We trust that future editors, making volumes suitable for the general public, will give higher regard to Inayat Khans repeated wish tohave his words preserved as exactly as possible.

FootnotesThere are several thousand footnotes in this volume, an admittedlylarge number. The footnotes represent mostly the differences between the shorthand text and the written-out text, whether inhandwriting or typed. The reason for this careful footnoting is to givereaders complete information about the contents of the shorthandrecord, so that it is not necessary to learn this abstruse (and nowobsolete) system of notation to determine what Inayat Khan actuallysaid, the main concern of this publication.

The footnote numbers in the text have been repeated in the followinginstances:1. When the note refers to a lengthy set of words rather than just afew, the note number appears both at the beginning and the end;2. When the same information applies in more than one instance.

References to the various works of ancient Sufis and to scriptures, particularly the Bible and the Quran, have been included whenever


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they could be found. Many works of ancient Sufis still awaittranslation into English or other European languages. Where Biblicalreferences begin with See, the quotation cited by Inayat Khan doesnot correspond exactly to standard translations. Often references tothe Quran prove difficult or impossible to identify precisely, sincetranslations differ dramatically, and it is not always clear whichtranslation Inayat Khan is referring to.

Table of ContentsIn the Table of Contents, the lectures have been listed under the titlewhich appears on the basic text. As far as books and classified seriesof lectures are concerned, these later titles can be found by consultingAppendix A. Where the exact date is known, it is given; where onlythe month is known, it is given without a day; where even the monthis not certain, it is followed by a question mark.

Explanation of AbbreviationsThis list, which follows this preface, offers the general meaning of each abbreviation. For this volume, the abbreviations have beenadjusted so that generally each reference consists of two letters, or two sets of two letters. This changes the abbreviations from theearliest volumes in this series, where they had one, two, or threeletters. The list of documents preceding the notes for each lectureindicates a more specific meaning of the abbreviation for that particular lecture. For information about themureed s (initiates) whotook down or later edited the lectures, please refer to the List of Persons, or to the Biography .

Appendix AAppendix A is designed to show what a particular lecture may have become later on. One use, of course, was as a chapter for a book.Another very common use was as a lesson to be distributed to SufiCentres, which included several different series for different purposes. The Gathas, Githas, Sangathas, and Sangithas were textsfor mureeds of particular levels of initiation. The various Gathekaseries were for a more general use. Those in possession of the booksor copies of the lessons will be able to use this appendix to discover the source of the material, and then to compare the edited versions


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with the original lectures.

GlossaryEven though explanations of foreign (non-English) terms aregenerally given only in the glossary, in some instances an immediateunderstanding of a term is so essential to understanding the statementthat a brief explanation has been included in the notes. When InayatKhan seems to have used a term in a special sense, the usual acceptedmeaning is given first, and his special meaning afterwards marked(suf). Standard reference sources have been used to make theseentries, but especially Dr. M. C. MonnasShort Dictionary of the

Fo reign Words in Hazrat Ina yat Khans Teaching s (revised edition,Alkmaar, 1991). Because of occasional errors in th is dictionary, allentries have been further checked in standard sources.

List of Persons, Places and WorksOf the names of deities, persons, peoples, geographical locations,works, etc., mentioned in the lectures in this volume, a shortexplanation has been given following the Glossary. In many cases,these might appear to be so well-known or readily available inreference works that no explanation is required. When this series began in the 1980s, finding information on these matters stillrequired access to a reference library. In the intervening years, thedevelopment of information technology has made vast amounts of information readily available virtually anywhere through the Internet.Therefore, in this volume we have shortened the entries in the List to just the essential information.

IndexThe extensive analytical index at the end of the book may proveuseful for private study, for preparing lectures, as well as for scholarly purposes in general. The intent has been to be inclusive andto provide some idea of the content of each reference. Within eachentry, a hyphen replaces the word being indexed. The downloadableversion of each book, available at nekbakhtfoundation.org, is alsosearchable using Adobe Acrobat Reader.

In conclusion, the objects of this book, and indeed of the whole


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series, may be summed up as threefold: to safeguard for posterity the teachings of Pir-o-Murshid HazratInayat Khan gathered in the Biographical Department ;10 to serve as the basis of future publications and translations; to make the earliest source materials of Pir-o-Murshid HazratInayat Khans words available to scholars, researchers, students, andthe many persons interested today in finding authentic texts of Sufispiritual teachings.

Donald Avery Graham, Editor-in-Chiefwith Jeanne Kor Salvato, Project Manager

Nekbakht Foundation34, rue de la Tuilerie

92150 Suresnes, Francewebsite: nekbakhtfoundation.org

10. Inayat Khan himself established the Biographical Department in the home of hissecretary, Sakina Furne, directly across the street from the fam ily home in Suresnes;it has become the principal archive of his teaching


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Abbreviations

a.o.d. = all other documents

br. = brochure

er. = early, a typescript made in the 1920s or 30s

Hq. = Headquarters of the Sufi Movement, Geneva

hw. = handwritten

Km. = Kismet Stam, one of Inayat Khans secretaries

nb. = notebook

od. = old, made in the early days (before the 1950s)

OED = The Oxford English Dictionary

sh. = shorthand

Sk. = Sakina Furne, one of Inayat Khans secretaries

st. = stencil, a cyclostyled copy

tp. = typescript, a typewritten text


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Acknowledgments

The work on this book occurred simultaneously with the work on

the second volume for 1924. Because the Summer School of 1924was almost entirely taken down in shorthand, an extended period of transcription or retranscription of the shorthand was necessary, aswell as an extended discussion of exactly what should constitute the basic text. A ltogether, this required fully five years of work.

In the course of this complex project, a decision was taken to begin work on the material from the American tour in 1926. All theselectures had been transcribed from Kismet Stams shorthand byAnneke Strijbos, who had used the original manuals to teach herself the Aim system. Therefore, all that was needed to establish the basictext was to comb through her very careful transcriptions. Then theyhad to be compared to the longhand or occasionally typed

transcription made long ago by Kismet Stam herself. In most cases,further comparisons were not necessary, since the material was never published (or, if it was, it was in the Sufi Message series, where theediting is so extensive that we do not attempt to note it). It was notoriginally anticipated that this material would be ready for publication shortly af ter the 1924 material, but that is how it workedout.

The most profound acknowledgment must be for the work of Anneke Strijbos, accomplished a quarter of a century ago. Her work over many years made this book possible. Thanks also belong, asalways, to Munira van Voorst van Beest, the founding editor of thisseries, who arranged for the work of Anneke S trijbos and then keptthe results in immaculate order awaiting our attention.

In the beginning of this process, the texts were prepared by theeditor-in-chief himself, who had extensive proofreading help from avisiting volunteer, Joseph N. de Raismes III, as well as Father William J. Teska.

However, not very far into the process, a new helper appeared,Jasmine Juliane Damm, who soon became central to the process, notonly very accurately typing the manuscript, but eventually becomingexpert in the comparison of documents, the heart of our work. Shehas proven invaluable.

Also of great value has been the work of Jeanne Kor Salvato,


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the principal and final proofreader and, in the latter days, the ProjectManager who has carried the work on this book and two othersthrough to completion. Her expertise has greatly improved seven of the volumes in this series, and she helped shape and write the Prefacefor the present volume.

Finally, Zamiat Bonnie Colby appeared at the right moment tocontribute her proofreading skills to the last phase of this project.

As with the other volumes, the Glossary and List have benefitedfrom a check by Shaikh-ul-Mashaik Mahmood Maheboob Khan, anAdvisor to the Nekbakht Board, and his wife, Ma-Shaika Harunnisa,who is a native speaker of Gujerati and Urdu, just as wasPir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan. They should not, however, be heldresponsible for any inaccuracies.

The Board of the Nekbakht Foundation, which owns the archivesin which these manuscripts reside and sponsors the publication of

these books, has generously provided housing, travel, and other financial support for those working on this project over the five yearsit has taken to complete it.


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Kismet Stam s typescript

__________________ December, 192511

Americas Mission in the World

America stands before the nations as the young man of thefamily, on whom everyone in the family has his eye. They areanxious that he may not fail; they are interested in his every action;they are delighted in all the good he can do. They may want him torespect them, but they inwardly follow him in his every activity.They are enthusiastic about every good thing he does, they areinterested in every enterprise he takes, they keenly observe hisdevelopment, and they see in his development their ownadvancement in life. America does not only inherit the qualities of those races who came and inhabited there, but as a miniature worldit inherits the qualities of the whole world. And it is therefore that thevoice of the Far East readily echoes in the heart of America.

The tissues built in the body of America have an internationaltone and it is therefore that America first responds to the idea of unity. The statues of America were built on the foundation of 12 brotherhood. The day when this principle will be fully lived out, theworld, divided into sections, will take up this example as a keynoteto the world of peace.

It is time that America had wakened to the higher consciousness

Documents:Km.hw. = a handwritten text by Kismet Stam, mostly in longhand but with a few

shorthand symbols, written on the stationery of the Holland-AmericaLine while she and Inayat Khan were crossing the Atlantic. Evidentlythey worked on the text together, and phrases were tried and thencrossed out, substituting other formulations. The crossed-out words a ndphrases are placed betwe en dashes, and the substituted words follow.

Km.tp. = a typed-out version of the text, made by Kismet Stam following thepreceding handwritten manuscript. Rather than indicating changes infootnotes, since the handwritten text is hard to follow already, thecomplete text as finally formulated appe ars here first (this is the text thatwas sent ou t to newspapers). Sk.tp. is identical.

Notes:11. No exact date can be assigned12. Sk.tp.: Sakina typed statues though states is written in the Km .hwr.


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towards which it has always been inclined. Many spiritualinstitutions began in the United States before they spread into theworld. Yet a new spiritual consciousness is to come. It is coming; itmust come, if only America responded to the call of spiritualawakening.

Today America is taking a prominent place among the nations innew scientific inventions and eventually will develop in art, music,and literature. It is doubtless that the day will come before long whenAmerica has developed a new spiritual consciousness which willflow through the veins of the whole world.

____________________

Kismet Stams longhand manuscript

__________________ 13

Americas Mission in the World

America stands before nations as the young man of the family onwhom everyone in the family has his eyes. They are anxious that hemay not fail. They are do interested in his every action, they aredelighted in all the good he can do. They may want him to respectthem, but they inwardly follow him in his every activity. They areenthusiastic about every good thing he does, they are interested inevery enterprise he takes, they keenly observe his development andthey depend upon see in his development their own advancementin life. America inherits not only the qualities of those races who14came and inhabited there, but as a new miniature world, it inheritsthe qualities of the whole world. And it is therefore that the voice15of the Far East re-echoes in the heart of America . The new16 17 blood atoms tissues that circulates build in the veins body of America have an international rhythm tone, and it is therefore18

13. Km.hw.: newspaper written above the text14. Km .hw.: inherits not only altered to does not only inherit15. Km .hw.: originally quality was written, then altered to qualities16. Km .hw.: re-echoes altered to readily echoes17. Km .hw.: here and in all following instances, Am erica is indicated by A.18. Km .hw.: originally has was written, altered to have


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that America first responds to the call idea of brotherhood unity.The states of America were built on the foundation of the brotherhood. The day when the principle will be fully lived out, theworld divided into sections will take up this example as a keynote tothe world peace. It is time that America had wakened to the higher consciousness toward which it has always been inclined. Manyspiritual institutions have been started began in the United19States before they spread into the world. Yet, a new spiritual20consciousness is to come. It is coming and it will must come, only if only Americas opened its heart ears opened heartresponded and to the call of spiritual awakening.

Today if America is not leading it is indeed at least takinga principal prominent p lace among the civilized nations in newscientific inventions in and eventually will develop in art, music,and literature. It is doubtless that the day will come before long when

it America has developed come to a new spiritual consciousnesswhich will flow through the veins of the whole world. ____________________

19. Km .hw.: here and in all following instances, spiritual is indicated by sp.20. Km .hw.: United States indicated by U. S.


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Kismet Stams shorthand and longhand manuscript

__________________ December, 19251

The Christ Ideal

The image of Christ is in the church, the book of Christ is withthe clergy, the love of Christ is in the heart of his worshipper, but thelight of Christ shines through the illuminated souls.

Some know in theory that Jesus Christ was from the East, butmany picture him to be the Western teacher. The people in the Westhave followed him; the people in the East have understood histeachings. Are people of the East not Christians? In the commonsense of the word, no. But in reality, it is their own religion. Christwas the seer and it is the seers eye that sees him. Many speak anddiscuss about Christs life and teachings, but few discern whichChrist they are speaking of, Christ before Jesus, or Christ in Jesus, or the promised Christ expected to come. Some wish to make him God,others try to make him man, some make him an ideal of a legend,others wish to make him a man of history. Unbelievers apart, eventhe believers do not see the Christ ideal with the same eyes. From oneside we hear, Come to the church of Christ. From the other sidethey say, Follow his religion. But seldom one hears, Hark to thevoice of the Master that calls from within and without.

If America sends missionaries to the East to teach the Christianreligion, it may also respond to the Eastern interpretation of Christsmessage!


shorthand symbols, written on the stationery of the Holland-AmericaLine while she and Inayat Khan were crossing the Atlantic. Evidentlythey worked on the text together, and phrases were tried and thencrossed out, substituting other formulations. The crossed-out words an dphrases are placed betwe en dashes, and the substituted words follow.

Sk.tp. = a typed version of the document prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne . It represents the final text, and, since there are so manycrossed out phrases in the K m.hw., it is presented here first, complete,rather than compared and footnoted, so that it can be read easily.

Notes:1. Sk.tp.: These 10 articles, dictated by Murshid, have been sent to differentnewspapers. typed above the text


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____________________

The Christ Ideal2

The statue image of Christ is in the church, the book of Christis with the clergyman, the love of Christ is in the heart of hisworshipper, but the light of Christ shines through the illuminatedsouls.

M a Some know in theory that Jesus Christ was from the East,3 but many picture him to be the Western teacher. However, the people in the West have followed him, the people in the East haveunderstood his teachings. Are people of the East not Christians? Yes, in the common sense of the word, no. But in reality, it is their own religion teaching of Christ. Christ was the seer and it is the4 seer who seers eye that sees him. Many speak and discuss about

Christs life and teachings, but few discern of which Christ theyare speaking of, Christ who was before Jesus, or Christ in Jesus,or Christ who the promised Christ who was expected to come. Many Some wish to make him God, others try to make h im man,some make him an ideal of a legend, others wish to make him a manof history. Unbelievers apart, even the followers of Christ believers do not agree see the Christ ideal with the same eyes thecommon conception of the master. From one side there is a call we hear, Come to the church of Christ if you wish to come to theChrist. From the other side comes the call, read the book of themaster they say, Follow his religion. But hardly seldom one5 says hears the call, Listen Hark to the voice of the Master that calls out from without within and without. If America asother nations has sent sends its missionaries to teach the East with the message rel to teach the Christian religion of Christ 6 7

2. Km.hw.: For newspa per at the top3. Km.hw.: Ma written and crossed out, perhaps beginning M any4. Km.hw.: a heavily crossed out, and thus indecipherable word or words in sh.5. Km.hw.: this crossed-out passage, w hich contains several sh. symbols, is difficultto make out, and is only partly rendered here6. Km .hw.: rel, perhaps abbreviating religion7. Km .hw.: the religion of Christ written first, then Christian inserted and of C hristcrossed out


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, they it the thoughtful in the United States will certainly mayattentively may also respond to the Eastern interpretation of hismessage given by the East of Christs message.

____________________


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Kismet Stams longhand reporting

__________________ On board S.S. Volendam, Holland- America Line

December 2 , 1925nd1

The Deeper Side of Life

Life can be looked at from two points of view, from the point of view which sees the outline and from the point of view which seesthe detail. With the point of view by which one sees the generaloutline of life, one soars upwards continually and one attains to theknowledge of lifes synthesis. This is the view of life of the one whois looking from the top of a high mountain.

The one who sees into lifes details, naturally his horizon becomes smaller, h is outlook narrower. He makes the analysis of lifeand becomes acquainted with details of life.

The former point of view gives an insight into a wider horizonand lifts the consciousness to a higher realization, whereas the latter point of view gives a knowledge into the details of life , which onecalls learning. Therefore, learning is one thing, knowing is another thing. Learning without knowing is incomplete knowledge. Knowingwithout learning also is not satisfactory. The knower can best explainhis knowledge if he has learning.

The mystics of all ages have raised their consciousness to viewthe outline of life in the wide horizon and have felt upliftment, beingraised high above all the miseries of life. Those who have ever


shorthand symbols, written on the stationery of the Holland-AmericaLine while she and Inayat Khan were crossing the Atlantic. Evidentlythey worked on the text together, and phrases were tried and thencrossed out, substituting other formulations. The crossed-out words an dphrases are placed betwe en dashes, and the substituted words follow.

Sk. tp . = a typed version of the document prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne . It represents the final text, and, since there are so manycrossed out phrases in the Km.hw., it is presented here first, as itrepresents the final text.



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reached at that stage of consciousness have only reached by the rightmeditation under the guidance of masters of spiritual culture.

____________________

2The Deeper Side of Life

Life can be looked at from two points of view, the out the point of view from the point of view which sees the outline andfrom the point of view which sees the detail. The point of view bywhich one sees the general outline of life one attains to theknowledge of lifes synthesis and one soars upwards, attainingcontinually . His view This is the view of life is that of the one3who is looking out at the world on the ground from the top of a4high mountain. The one who sees in lifes details, naturally hishorizon becomes smaller, his view outlook narrower. He makes a the analysis of life and becomes acquainted with details of life.The former point of view gives an insight into a wider horizon andlifts the consciousness up to a higher realization. Whereas thelatter point of view gives a knowledge into the details of life whichone calls learning. Therefore, learning is one thing, knowing isanother thing. Learning without knowing is incomplete knowledge.Knowing without learning also is also not satisfactory. The knower can best explain his knowledge by learning or if if he has5learning.

The mystics of all ages have raised their consciousness to viewthe outline of life in the wide horizon and have felt a feeling of upliftment being raised high above all the miseries of life. Those who

have ever arrived reached (at) that stage of consciousness haveonly reached by their (the) right meditation, taught by great under the guidance of masters of spiritual culture.

____________________

2. Km.hw.: Newsp aper. written above the text3. Km.hw.: Kismet made a line indicating an alteration of the order of words, whichhowever is indecipherable4. Km.hw.: above the crossed-out ground, another word, which looks like lad, alsocrossed out5. Km.hw .: above the crossed-out by is written through, also crossed out


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Kismet Stams shorthand and longhand reporting

__________________ December, 19251

The Freedom of the Soul

Freedom is the object of every soul; each soul strives after it in2its own way. Often not knowing the real way to freedom, man,instead of attaining freedom, falls into a captivity. Many wish to3 begin life with what they call freedom and arrive at the end to acaptivity. It is the path of discipline which leads to freedom in theend, which very few know.

When one sees that for the freedom of one, the freedom of another is robbed, so it is with individuals, races, or nations. Man,striving after freedom, disregards the freedom of another, and so people are busy in the world trying to get freedom, who use it on thecontrary.

Life in the world is a gambling of freedom. Few get it and manylose it, and those who get it must lose it some day or the other. Thereis only one freedom worthwhile, and that is the freedom of the soul.4The soul, which is captive not only in conditions and situations of life, but also in the mind and body, has never a chance to free itself,5 being caught in the web of life. The way to the souls freedom is for the soul to realize itself first; the soul realizes itself when it has6detached itself not only from conditions and situations, but also7from mind and body. To bring about such a detachment, meditation

Documents:Km.hw. = Kismet Stams handwritten manuscript, with some words in shorthand,

made from the dictation of Inayat Khan, revised as it was beingcomposed.

Sk.tp. = a typescript prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne, omittingall the crossed-out words in Km.hw .

Notes:1. Km.hw.: for newspaper adde d above the text2. Km.hw .: first his was written, then crossed out3. Km.hw .: first seek for was written, then crossed out4. Sk.tp.: and omitted and a colon instead of the com ma5. Km.hw.: a placed between parentheses6. Km.hw .: first only was written, then crossed out7. Km.hw.: first if was written, then crossed out


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is practised by Sufis and mystics, who interpret the idea of dying8 9 before death as the upliftment of the soul. Resurrection followscrucifixion.

____________________

8. Km.hw .: first the was written, then crossed out9. Km.hw .: a crossed-out word which is illegible, but could be time


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Sakina Furnes typescript

__________________ December, 19251

Man, the M aster of his Destiny

Man is an engineer and at the same time man is a machine. Thereis a part of h is being which works automatically, subject to climaticand personal influences and to favourable and unfavourableconditions. And there is another part in him which is the engineer part, and that which manifests from that part man calls free will. It isthis outlook of life out of which comes the saying, Man proposes,God d isposes. It may be very well said that in the case of one it ismore so than in the case of another. In one case , a man continually2 proposes and God continually disposes; in the other case, it is quiteon the contrary: man proposes and God grants. This gives one a keyto understand the mystery of life, that the more the engineer part of his being is developed, the more man controls his life and affairs. Butthe more the machine part of his being is nurtured, the more helplesshe becomes in spite of all the success in the world he may have.There comes a moment in mans life when mans efforts fall flat andhe finds himself to be helpless before conditions.

Motive is a power for action and yet it limits power. The secretof the mystic is to be able to rise above the motive power in order todraw power from the all-powerful. Once man realizes that he is anengineer and a mechanism at the same time, he studies thatmechanism with which he must work, and he avoids being caught inthis mechanism as the spider in the web. He keeps watch over it as3

Documents:Sk .tp .1 = a typescr ip t p repared unde r the supervi sion of Sakina Furne, w ith

two corrections in the type.S k. tp .2 = a no th er typ es cr ip t pr ep ar ed u nd er th e su pe rv is io n of S a kin a

Furne, with the corrections in Sk.tp.1 already made.

1. Sk.tp.1,2: These 10 articles, dictated by Murshid, have been sent to differentnewspapers. typed above the text2. Sk.tp.1: it appears that some cases w as originally typed, then some erased andone substituted, and the s on cases crossed out3. Sk.tp.1: originally may keep was typed, but then m ay was crossed out, and a ns added at the end of keep


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an engineer to control and utilize this mechanism to the best purpose,in which the secret of mastery is to be found.

____________________


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__________________ December, 19251

Man, the Master of His Destiny

When a glimpse of Our Image is caught in man, when heavenand earth are sought in man, then what is there in the world that isnot in man? If one only explores him, there is a lot in man. (Gayan )2

The intelligent people have a tendency to explore the deepwaters, the ancient lands, the high mountains, and the ends of theearth. They will explore anything but human being. People are gladwhen an oil-tank is discovered, or when a coal mine is found, butthey do not attach any value to that something incomparable to allthings existing in the world, which is the spirit of man. The spirit of man is the egg in which God is formed, the human heart is the wombfrom which the Lord is born.

When one studies nature from a biological point of view, onesees that it is from the unintelligent life out of which the intelligentlife springs. And it is this distinction which divides manifestation intotwo aspects: things and beings. Science looks at the springing of intelligence out of the unintelligent dense matter. It traces theevolution of intelligence from the lower creation to man. But themystic looks at the intelligence as the seed and flower, both. Whatseems to be unintelligent, it only envelops intelligence. What seemsintelligent is the unfolding process of the intelligence. To the mystic,therefore, intelligence is first and last, and the whole manifestationis the process of it. The all intelligence becomes divided, so to speak, by being poured out in different vessels, the different bodies of theliving beings, and so it is known by man in its limited aspect. Everyman does not recognize it to be the all intelligence. If not, he would

Document:Sk.tp. = a typescript prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne.

Notes:1. Sk.tp.: These 10 articles, dictated by Murshid, have been sent to differentnewspapers. typed above the text2. The Gayan is a book of sayings of Inayat Khan (see List); see Complete Works of Pir-o-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan , Sayings 1 (East-We st, 1989), p. 1


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say with the Prophet that, God is the light of the earth and3heavens.

____________________

3. Inayat Khan here refers to the Prophet Muhamm ad


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Kismet Stams longhand reporting

__________________ New York, December, 1925

1

My P ilgrimage to the Holy Men of India

The Hindu bows before his deity, the Muslim cries to his lord,the Parsi worships the fire, but the devotee seeks the sacred dwellingof the holy men.

The love which was born in my heart for spiritual realizationkept me all through life in the pursuit of their sacred dwellings. Hewho seeks, finds, and so I saw the souls I sought after. Not only inthe heart of the forest, nor in the caves of the mountains, but even inthe midst of the crowd I saw their holy vision.

The God of the orthodox is in theories, the God of the idolatersis in the shrine, the God of the seeker is in obscurity, but the God of the devotee speaks through the lips of the holy man.

I had heard that a holy man of Punjab stood in one place for twelve years without moving. He was waiting for his teacher, wholeft him saying he would come. He waited there, standing under thecanopy of the sky day and night, through rain and storm, till his soul became the soul of the teacher.

I heard of Sheikh Khamush , a young disciple of a saint in2Deccan, who was a very intelligent youth and liked to ask questionsof his teacher. One day the teacher was in ecstasy and SheikhKhamush asked a question. The teacher said, Khamush, whichmeans silence. And the pupil became silent and never spoke again.Years passed but no one heard a word coming from his lips till hisglance began to speak, and to whatever side he cast his glance, hewon the heart of human beings. This glance became the light of

Documents:Km.hw. = a handwritten document by Kismet Stam, made from dictation by Inayat

Khan.Km.tp. = a typewritten document by Kismet Stam, nearly identical in wording to

Km.hw.Notes:1. Km.hw .: Unfinished article. written above the text2. For khamush , see Glossary


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sincerity, the fountain of life which healed souls continually.I had heard the story of Bawa Farid , who once asked his3 4

mother, Which is the best occupation in life, mother? The pursuit

of God, said his mother. How do we pursue God, mother? heasked. The mother said, As far as I know, people go to the forest inthe search of God. Farid said, Mother, let me go to the forest tofind God.5

____________________

3. Km.tp.: Baba (probably correct) instead of Bawa4. For Farid, see List5. Km.tp.: a num ber of dots, indicating that this article remains unfinished


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__________________ 1

The Purpose of Life

How many reasons one may give to people to tell them what isthe purpose of life, they will always ask for a new reason. Man isalways looking for something new. The real search for novelty is notlooking for something new, but is in experiencing every moment of ones life: the new inspiration and new joy that life gives when theheart is open and when the soul begins to see.

The purpose of life may be found in mans natural inclinations.The principal inclination man shows is to occupy himself withsomething that attracts him, something that pleases him, somethingthat interests him, in the absence of which he feels lonely. There are

five inclinations predominant in man: for knowledge, for happiness,for power, for life, and for peace, and each of these he searches after wrongly. He gains his knowledge from outside things, and the inner knowledge remains hidden. He seeks for happiness in the things of the world when happiness is to be sought in mans own heart. Manlooks for power in the unreliable sources; therefore, the real sourceof power remains hidden from his view. Man strives after life whichleads to mortality and remains unaware of that life which livesforever. Peace is the seeking of every soul and every soul seeks itwrongly; instead of finding peace within oneself, people try to make peace outside. Everyone has a particular purpose in his life. When hegoes on the lines that lead to the fulfilment of that purpose, he is on

the right track, but when he goes astray from the line that leads to his purpose, he is doing wrong.But the ultimate purpose is one and the same and that purpose is

to find the self which is the domain of all souls. As Christ says,Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added

Document:Sk.tp. = a typescript prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne.



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unto you.2 ____________________

2. See Matt. 6:33


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Kismet Stams handwritten manuscript

__________________ December, 1925

1

The Power of the Word

Science says the first impulse of the manifestation is motion. TheBible says, First was the word and the word was God . Vedantists2say, Sound was the creator. and In Quran it is said, Be ye 3said he, and it became . In all ages The wise of all ages have said4 as with Wagner says , Who knows the mystery secret of sound, knows the mystery of life.

There is a psychological significance in the voice, syllable,vowel and word. All one says has a greater power than all one does.Only one is conscious of the result of ones action which manifestson the surface, but one is ignorant, unaware of the secret of 5unseen influence of what one says, which works through the wholemanifestation. It is the mystics eye which, as a telescope, can seeinto it and find out the fine working of the sound and vibrations and in the mechanism of the universe. The A Hindustani poetsays, Speak not under this dome of the universe that which thou wiltnot want to hear. It is on this principle that the ancient Hindus builtmantra shastra and the Sufis develop their spiritual science 6culture. A phrase that a mystic gives to his pupil to repeat so manytimes a day has far greater value and importance than a phrase

Documents:Km.hw.= Kismet Stams handwritten manuscript, made from the dictation of

Inayat Khan, revised as it was being comp osed. Crossed-out words areplaced between da shes, and the substituted words follow.

Sk. tp . = a typescr ipt prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne, omit tingall the crossed-out words.

Notes:1. Sk.tp.: These 10 articles, dictated by Murshid, have been sent to differentnewspapers. typed above the text2. John 1:13. Sk.tp.: the added4. Quran II.115. Km.hw.: ignorant written above unaware, perhaps as an alternative; Sk.tp.:ignorant omitted6. For mantra shastra , see Glossary


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prescription given by a doctor.The master knower of sound knows the faith occult

chemistry and the psychological application of it for the physical,

mental, and moral and spiritual benefit of man. ____________________


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A types cri pt fro m Sa kin a F urn e

__________________ December, 1925

1

The Message of Wisdom from the East to the West

Wisdom, says In ayat K han , belongs neither to the East nor to theWest. Wisdom is the outflow of a ripened heart, ripened by the sunof the pure intelligence and with the water of the ever-running streamof love. Materialism, Inayat Kha n says , has been the curse of the present age, which has shaken all nations and wh ich has confusedhumanity, bringing forth wars and disasters such as we have recentlygone through. Is humanity through it? No, says Inayat Khan . Theinharmony is in the spirit of the world. The result of the war weexperience now is worse than the war. Peace is a word withoutmeaning just now. We shall know peace when peace will come.Peace does not show itself even in the horizon. Toward what mustthis world be lifted? To the ideal, the ideal which is the kernel of religion, the ideal which is the reason of philosophy, the ideal whichis the logic of science, the ideal which is the inspiration of art. It istoward that ideal that humanity must awake, and it is by attaining thatideal that we shall experience that peace which our souls yearn after.

Inayat Khans vis it to the U nited States is for no oth er purposethan to bring the m essage of love, harmony and beauty, in the serviceof which cause he ha s dedicated his life. A musician of great renown,with high aspirations, he has learnt his philosophy from life. Hisreligion is all religions, his truth is that which is realised by all

seekers after tru th. He is not opposed to an y church or any fai th.

Documents:Sk. tp . = a typescr ipt prepared under the supervision of Sakina Furne, probably

made from the original dictation, which is no longer available. The partswhich are (theoretically) not reporting Inayat Khans own words areplaced in italics .

Od.tp. = a fine typescript, identical in wording to Sk.tp. but omitting those partsnot representing (theoretically) Inayat Khans words, here placed initalics .

Notes:1. Sk.tp.: These 10 articles, dictated by Murshid, have been sent to differentnewspapers. at the top


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Only his appeal to mankind is to waken to that reality from which spring all faiths and beliefs . Inayat K han is introducing in the world Universal Worship , in order to bring about a better understanding 2

among the followers of different religions. ____________________

2. Universal W orship is a service introduced by Inayat Khan in 1921; see List


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Kismet Stams shorthand and longhand reporting

__________________ On board S.S. Volendam, Holland-America Line

December 2 , 1925nd

The Deeper Side of Life

Friends,I have an unexpected pleasure to compel withthe request to1 2

speak before you some words on the deeper side of life.When we consider life deeply, we can very well divide it into

two parts and call it, the lighter side of life and the other, the deeper side of life. The importance of both these sides may seem at momentsas great as of the other . When a person is thinking of the lighter side3of life, at that moment that side is more important; the other side, of

which the person is not conscious of , seems to have no great4

importance. But then there are other momentswhich come in life, perhaps aftera suffering orafter a loss orafter some experience of life, thata person suddenly wakens to quite a different realization of 5life. And when one is wakened to that, at that time that deeper side6of life seems to have more importance thanthe lighter sid e. No one,either clergyman or mystic, no authoritycan say which side is more

Documents:Km.sh . = Kisme t S tams sho rthand r eport ing of the lecture, wi th many gaps

to be filled in later in the longhand transcription. W here the two

actually differ, the shorthand is placed as the text and thelonghand is indicated in a footnote. In the case of this lecture,several lengthy passages were omitted from the longhandtranscription, which m ost probably was don e in consultation withInayat Khan.

Km.hw. = Kisme t S tams longhand tr ansc ript ion of he r shor thand , madeshortly after the lecture was given, and filling in many de liberategaps in the shorthand. The words in the longhand which do notappear in the shorthand are in italics .

Notes:1. Km.hw .: the instead of an2. Probably comply was intended; however, all documents have com pel3. Km.hw .: equally great instead of as great as of the other4. Km.hw.: of omitted5. Km.hw .: quite omitted6. Km.hw .: the instead of that


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important. It depends of how we look at it, everyone has . If we7 8raise its value, it may bea small thing,but we shall attacha greater value to it. If do not look at can be a thing. There is no such a thing9 9

in this worldwith its value commonly attached to it. Ifthere is sucha thing,it does not stay in the same position always. If such a thing as money is changing, that what isthere in this world which does10not changeits importance! And when we picture at these two parts11of life , the lighterand the deeper side of life,we see thatwe picture12them in our present experience.

We are travelling to gether , some from one country, others fromanother country,coming from different directions of the world, yet we are gathered to gether. By what? By a destiny. Still clearerby acommon destination wherewe all wish to go,we are for a few daystogether in this ship. And now our happy disposition, our favourableattitude to one another,our desire to be kind, friendly, sociable,

serviceable, it is this alone which makes us understand one another and which helps us to make one another happy. And it brings us13 14far closer than destiny has brought us.The same is the small pictureof life. Whenwe considerthe life of a community,a nation,a race,of the whole world, what is it? Is it not a large shipon which all aretravelling why going,knowingly or unknowingly, still all moving,15 16all changing. Therefore, it is travelling only.

There are two aspects of the traveller. There are travellerswho donot know wherethey are coming from andwhere they are going to.Only whenthey open their eyesthey are in this ship.They come fromsomewhere;they realize that they are in the ship which is moving,going. And according to this, many peopleare living in this worldtoday.They are so absorbed intheir everyday occupation , however,17

7. Km.hw.: upon instead of of8. Km.hw.: everyone has omitted9. Km.hw.: This whole un clear phrase If do notthing. omitted10. Km .sh.: that could also be out; Km .hw.: then instead of that11. Km .sh.: at could also be out12. Km .hw.: of life omitted13. Km.hw.: and omitted14. Km .hw.: will help instead of helps15. Km.sh.: going could also be know ing; Km.hw.: whether instead of why going,16. Km .hw.: still omitted17. Km .hw.: activity instead of occupation


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may be ignorant of wherethey are coming from and where they are18going. Imagine the difference between these two travellers,the onewho knows from wherehe has come he also must know or will19

know one day whyhe is come, whyhe is travelling; andthe one20

who knows wherehe is going will also prepare, not sooner, later for 21the place where he is going.The one who does not know from wherehe comes, he only knows where he is, he only occupied by things22immediately in his surroundings. The one who does not know23wherehe will go to is not prepared to arrange, to face his destination;he does not know what is in store for him. Therefore,he is not prepared for it.

Buddha, whose name many have heard,who was a great master of the East, was asked one day by his disciples that, What did hemean by ignorance? And he gave example by this story . He said24 25that a person was clinging in distress tothe branch of a tree inthe

utter darkness of night, not knowing if beneath his feet there wasearth or a ditch or there is water. All night longhe trembled and26wept and was clinging fast to that branch. And with the break of thedawn he found thathe was not one foot distant fromthe earth27 beneath his feet.

If I were to sayhow that word ignorance can be defined: as28fear, doubt, passion, confusion. Where all these come from? Itcomes from our ignorance of the one side of life, and that is the29deeper side of life. He may be clever in making the most of whatwe30call the lighter side of life, profession, art, industry, business, and31yet that is one side of life . Bu t that is not all. We know not, with all32

18. Km .hw.: that they are instead of however, m ay be19. Km.hw.: must also instead of also must20. Km .hw.: has instead of is21. Km .hw.: not sooner, later omitted; perhaps if not sooner, then later was said22. Km .hw.: knows of his activity, of instead of occupied by23. Km

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